A month in the India Transport Sector (No 33)

February, 2014

TYRE MANUFACTURERS
MICHELIN PRODUCING TYRES IN INDIA Michelin, the French tyre manufacturing giant, expanded its operations in India by setting up a manufacturing unit in Thiruvallur in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. More information on ITP MICHELIN SETS UP RETREADING CENTRES IN COIMBATORE AND SALEM Michelin will now work with TVS TREAD. The Retreading and Tyre Solutions division offers tyre retreads both conventional and precure for radial and bias tyres. More information on ITP BRIDGESTONE TO RAMP UP CAPACITY AT SECOND INDIA PLANT BY END-2015 The company has recently launched its second manufacturing facility at Chakan in Pune. This facility will manufacture tyres for the passenger segment, but its primary product will be bus and truck tyres. More information on ITP BRIDGESTONE LAUNCHES THE B290 TYRE RANGE FOR INDIAN ROADS Kazuhisa Nishigai, COO and representative board member of Bridgestone Corporation said, The Company was presently training Indian engineers in Tokyo, and may have an R&D Centre in India in the future. More information on ITP YOKOHAMA LAUNCHES DESIGNED FOR INDIA TYRE SERIES SPECIFICALLY

EDITORIAL
India is still considered as a promised land for European companies such as Daimler Trucks. One of its top executives even said that Asian countries have the ability to drive the whole truck business as its 2013 major sales came from Asia. So Daimler Trucks plans to use India as an export base for Africa and Asia. It took just 15 months for the truck maker to become the country number 4 in the 5-49 tonnes category and the company plans to be among the top 3 by three years. But even if it means that India offers tremendous growth opportunities regarding transportation, it does not mean that India is playing is the same league as Europe. Indeed, even stripped down versions of high end European trucks are not affordable for the country. This is why Daimler developed a new low cost range of vehicles that fits the Indian needs (even if the CEO of Daimler India, Marc Llistosella says that they bring knowledge of manufacturing process) and that allows Daimler to forecast sales goals of more than 500,000 units in 2015 and 700,000 in 2020. Llistosella calls for a scrappage policy if trucks that are 8 years old in order to tackle road safety issues. But the excise reduction announced in the interim budget is not gonna help truck makers and buyers. Volumes in the 5 tonne plus range have shrunk from 450,000 to 300,000 units in two years. But the slowdown has not restrained India truck makers just like Daimler, Ashok Leyland, AMW, Volvo-Eicher etc. to invest in new models as nobody wants to lose out on opportunities when times are better. However the main question is not about when sales will rise again. It is all about how India is able to tackle its transportation challenges. As said by the Head of Good Transport & Sustainable Development, International Road Transport Union: In order for commercial road transport to meet market demands, it will remain dependent on oil with no economically viable alternative for the foreseeable future. Beyond prices, beyond sales goals, low cost solutions are not viable. Quality is the price to pay to ensure long terms benefits.

Tyre manufacturer, Yokohama, have launched a new set of tyres specifically suited to Indian conditions. The Japanese giant has called the tyre model The Earth 1, and claims it is perfectly suited for Indian roads. More information on ITP

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A month in the India Transport Sector (No 33)

February, 2014 ROADS & TRAFFIC

INDIA HAS MADE A LOT OF PROGRESS, BUT THERE IS STILL MUCH TO BE DONE: JENS HGEL HEAD OF GOOD TRANSPORT & SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, INTERNATIONAL ROAD TRANSPORT UNION Jens Hgel is IRU Head of Good Transport & Sustainable Development. He develops, presents and defends IRU positions at international organizations, with commercial partners, NGO and scientific community. More information in ITP AHMEDABAD INTELLIGENT SIGNALING SYSTEM SHALL REDUCE THE OVERALL DELAY & TRAVEL TIME MR. VINOD PURANIK, AVP ITS, DELHI INTEGRATED MULTI-MODAL TRANSIT SYSTEM Mr. Vinod Puranik is AVP ITS at Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System. He is member of the Indian Road Congress, Committe on Urban Roads, Streets and Transport. He is also member of the BIS, ITS Committe and member of the Technical Committee of Delhi Traffic Police for verification of work estimates, works.repais of signals/blinkers in Delhi. More information on ITP ROADS AND PAVEMENTS CAN NOW BE DEVELOPED BY MPS Members of Parliament (MPs) in India can now use their development fund to construct and repair roads and pavements in their local districts. More information on ITP

TYRE MARKET
WE HAVE BEEN ADVOCATING FOR LAST THREE DECADES TO BRING IN RADIALISATION IN TYRES IN INDIA DESPITE RESISTANCE FROM DOMESTIC MANUFACTURERS S. P. SINGH, SENIOR FELLOW & COORDINATOR IFTRT, AND CONVENOR AITDF S.P. Singh is Sr. Fellow & Coordinator, Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training (IFTRT). He is Member TED-7 (BIS) on Automotive tyre, tube, rim and valves. He is the Convenor of the All India Tyre Dealers Federation and has an extended knowledge on tyres issues. More information on ITP TYRE COMPANIES ON SKID ROW AS VEHICLE SALES HEAD SOUTH This year, the companies have been disappointed, as not only the individual consumer, but also the commercial customer has steered clear of new purchases. Thus the North Indian truck owners have followed in the footsteps of its South Indian counterpart, choosing retreaded tyres over new ones. Those who have decided to buy new tyres have opted for cheap Chinese replacements instead of the better quality Indian tyres. More information on ITP DEALERS CONCERNED BY HIGH TYRE PRICES DESPITE NATURAL RUBBER TURNING CHEAPER The recent fluctuations in the Indian tyre industry have put tyre dealers at an immense disadvantage. Tyre dealers depend on sales of replacement tyres for their revenues. Though replacements are the largest source of revenue for Indian tyre companies, customers are increasingly choosing to buy readily available cheap Chinese tyres as replacements. More information on ITP RUBBER GROWERS AND TYRE MANUFACTURERS ARGUE OVER IMPORT DUTY The cost of rubber makes up forty percent of the price of a tyre. There is thus a close symbiotic relationship between tyre manufacturers and rubber growers, and the fortunes and decisions of one affect the other. More information on ITP

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A month in the India Transport Sector (No 33)

February, 2014 RAILWAYS

BULLET TRAINS TO BE LAUNCHED ON MUMBAI-AHMEDABAD LINE The iconic Shinkansen (bullet train) system from Japan is set to come to India. The two countries have agreed to work together to determine the feasibility of such high-speed trains in India. Japan will assist the Indian Railways to study the viability of trains running at 300-350 km per hour across the nation. As per a joint agreement signed between; Girish Pillai, infrastructure advisor, Indian Railways and Katsuo Matsumoto director, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) South Asia, the study will be conducted over a period of 18 months and costs will be shared between the two nations. More information on ITP TRAIN JOURNEY TO COST 2 PERCENT MORE The Indian Railways is one of the largest government enterprises in India. Serving as the backbone of Indian Industry, the source of livelihood for millions and the most commonly used means of transport, it carries the hopes and dreams of the entire country. Operated for countrys welfare, its affairs are managed by the railway ministry, the only ministry which presents a budget, independent of the nations general budget. More information on ITP

CAR MARKET
SIAM PREDICTS POOR AUTO SALES UNTIL NEXT FISCAL The Indian auto industry has have experienced difficult times over the past two years. The festive season did not bring much joy for car makers, although some passenger vehicles showed an increase in sales. Car sales are expected to decline until the next fiscal year. More information on ITP IN A GLOOMY AUTO MARKET, RURAL INDIA RESCUES MANUFACTURERS The global slowdown which has affected the fortunes of the automobile sector in India, has failed to weigh down rural India. Unaffected by most factors that have dented urban populations and their livelihoods, the rural Indians spending is governed by the monsoons and base prices set by the government for their crops. A generous monsoon is thus being celebrated, not only by the Indian farmer, but also by automakers whose dwindling sales have received a new lease of life thanks to purchases in rural India. More information on ITP MARUTI SUZUKI EXPERIENCE INCREASED IMPORT COSTS DUE TO WEAK RUPEE In spite of the success it has experienced, the company is now facing the possibility of a dip in profits in the second half of the financial year. The cause of this dip is the poor state of the Indian Rupee which has been precariously positioned since January 2013. More information on ITP MARUTI TOPS DEALER CUSTOMER SATISFACTION CHARTS ACCORDING TO SURVEY Maruti Suzuki India has been ranked as the best automobile company in regards to customer satisfaction with dealer service in a survey conducted by JD Power Asia Pacific,. On a 1000-point scale, as measured by JD Power, the Indo-Japanese automobile giant scored 876 rating points. This is the 14th year in a row that Maruti has topped the list for customer satisfaction with dealer service in this survey. More information on ITP

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A month in the India Transport Sector (No 33)

February, 2014 ADVERTISE WITH US

TRUCK MARKET
SCANIA OPENS ITS BANGALORE FACILITY The Swedish Scania AB, a leading manufacturer of commercial vehicles, buses and trucks, tied up with Larsen & Toubro in 2007 to distribute its mining engines and tippers. Scania Commercial Vehicles India was set up in 2011 to cater for the Indian market. Its first manufacturing facility in Karnataka was inaugurated in late October this year. Martin Lundstedt, president & CEO at Scania Global said that he hoped working with India would be a win-win situation. The on-road trucks are set to hit the Indian markets next year. Lundstedt said, We are targeting to sell 120,000 trucks, 15,000 buses and 20,000 industrial engines globally by the calendar year 2020. More information on ITP DAIMLERS SUCCESS HAS LED TO A CHANGE IN MARKET DYNAMICS IN INDIA Under the name BharatBenz, the entry of German truck manufacturer Daimler, into the Indian market, has already led to changes in the market forces. In July, within ten months of entering the country, Daimler has risen to become one of the top-five truck makers in India in the heavy duty category. Manufacturers such as MAN Trucks and AMW Trucks, have been left behind by the German giant. More information on ITP MAHINDRA SURGES AHEAD IN PICK-UP TRUCK MARKET

More information on ITP

ABOUT US
India Transport Portal is the leading independent hub on indian transportation (road safety, fuel savings, carbon emissions, transportation infrastructure, sustainable transportation etc.). India Transport Portal is edited by Digital Bizzline Ltd. a UK based press agency recently launched by a group of freelance journalists. Digital Bizzline Ltd. is registered at the Companies House UK: 07301455 contact@indiatransportportal.com

MEDIA PARTNER WITH

6TH ANNUAL ROADS CONFERENCE March 5, 2014 New Delhi TYRE AND RUBBER INDONESIA March 1 22, 2014 Jakarta, Indonesia

The Indian automobile sector may be on a

downward spiral due to an economic depression, but the pick-up truck market is showing no signs of a slowdown. During the first six months of this financial year (April-August) the pick-up segment recorded a 17 per cent growth. Automobile manufacturer, Mahindra and Mahindra, have played a major role in reversing the sector trend. More information on ITP

TIRECON ASIA 2014 May 22 & 23, 2014 Shanghai, China

COMMERCIAL TRANSPORT SHOW July 8 -10, 2014 New Delhi, India

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